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FROM OUR EDITORS—November 27, 2022 – 1st Sunday of Advent

FROM OUR EDITORS—November 27, 2022 – 1st Sunday of Advent

Para la versión en español, haga clic aquí.

Happy New Year! We begin a new Liturgical Year on the First Sunday of Advent. You’ll notice that our Advent Gospel Weeklies lessons focus on joyful anticipation, which is the spirituality of the season of Advent. We delay the celebration of Christmas to, well, Christmas and the Christmas season.

Our culture seems to push us to celebrate Christmas before Christmas and skip over the season of Advent altogether. The Church encourages us to slow the pace and take time to focus on preparing our hearts to celebrate the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. During Advent, we also consider how well we are preparing for Christ’s Second Coming.

We pray that your weeks of Advent will be ones of joyful anticipation and that you remember the joyful part! We pray that you don’t let the trappings of the “perfect” Christmas become a trap that prevents you from truly celebrating the most perfect gift of all—God’s Son become man—and the promise of redemption and eternal life he brings!

Every week in the GROW newsletter, you will find helpful tips for teaching your Gospel Weeklies lesson, a reflection on the Sunday Gospel, and links to online resources.

Videos of Sunday’s Gospel
Use these videos as you discuss today’s Gospel. Please preview all videos you plan to share with your class:
     Sunday Gospel Cartoon Reading and Lesson
     Gospel Reading and Reflection for Kids
     Holy Heroes
Advent Videos
     A Journey Through Advent in Song with Miss Heidi and John Burland
     Liturgical Calendar: Saints & Seasons with Shannon
     Advent in 2 Minutes (NEW!)
     What Is an Advent Wreath?
     Find the Perfect Gift
     God’s Story: Prophets

Seeds
Lesson Theme: We prepare for Jesus’ coming.
For this lesson, you will need an Advent wreath for your classroom, crayons, scissors, glue sticks, a shell, an apple, other objects easily recognizable by touch, a story coloring page (one per child), and a Church Year calendar.

As we begin the season of Advent, it is a good idea to spend a little extra time with the Church Year calendar. You may want to wish your children a Happy New Year as you explain how the Church is starting a whole new year this Sunday. During the four lessons of the season of Advent, the children will be asked to cut a flame and paste it on the Advent wreath on the cover of today’s lesson. Keep your Advent wreath cover in the classroom to add a flame over the next three sessions and remind the children to do the same at home.

Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Parent/Grandparent Assistance for Home Study
Extending Activities
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Word of the Week
Seasonal Resources
Videos
     Kid-Sized Lessons on the Sunday Gospel with Mrs. Cole
     Gospel Reflection and Saint of the Week
     What’s What in the Church? Advent Wreath

Promise
Lesson Theme: We get ready for Jesus’ coming.
For this lesson, you will need an Advent wreath, a family calendar, a Church Year calendar, crayons, drawing paper, scissors, glue sticks, and an aide or aides to assist with cutting and gluing.

In this lesson, you’ll be introducing the children to the Church Year and the place of Advent within it. You might wish the children a Happy New Year as a child points to the First Sunday of Advent on a Church Year calendar. Take time to explain Advent in relation to Christmas, share the tradition of praying with the Advent wreath, and helping the children identify ways that they get ready for Jesus’ coming. Making a good effort this week will help the children better appreciate Advent and its meaning in the coming weeks.

Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Parent/Grandparent Assistance for Home Study
Extending Activities
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Word of the Week
Seasonal Resources
Videos
     Kid-Sized Lessons on the Sunday Gospel with Mrs. Cole
     Gospel Reflection and Saint of the Week
     What’s What in the Church? Advent Wreath

Good News
Lesson Theme: Jesus will come again.
For this lesson, you may wish to prepare an Advent wreath for your classroom. An alternate option is to use the wreath on the cover of this week’s Good News lesson for this purpose. You will also need a Church Year calendar, scissors, pencils, crayons, and a world map or globe. We suggest that you cut slits in the Advent wreaths on page 1 in advance. A box cutter or utility knife will work well for this purpose. Make sure you open each lesson and cut against heavy cardboard to protect the surface underneath.

This lesson introduces the children to the concept that Advent is a time to prepare not only for the celebration of Jesus’ first coming at Christmas over 2,000 years ago, but also for his Second Coming at the end of time. Help them to see Advent as a time to think about how well they are getting ready for Jesus’ Second Coming. This is why many parishes offer Advent Reconciliation services. If your children have already celebrated First Reconciliation, encourage them to celebrate this sacrament again during Advent.

Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Parent/Grandparent Assistance for Home Study
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Videos
     What’s What in the Church? Advent Wreath
     What Is the Symbolism of the Advent Wreath?
     The Ten Commandments!

Venture
Lesson Theme: How can we be ready?
Wish the children “Happy New Year!” this week. Explain that the Church’s new liturgical calendar begins this Sunday. We also begin the season of Advent, in which we prepare to celebrate the coming of Jesus among us at Christmas. If you do not already post a calendar in your classroom, hold on to this lesson cover. Refer to it regularly throughout the rest of the catechetical year.

Share with the children that Catholics read about the Old Testament prophets during Advent; this week, they will begin a three-week study of Isaiah. The related activity encourages the children to illustrate ways of moving from divisiveness to peace. Direct the children to post their Advent calendars at home; refer to it each week and encourage the children to select and complete weekly activities.

Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Parent/Grandparent Assistance for Home Study
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Videos
     What Is the Symbolism of the Advent Wreath?
     The Meaning of the Advent Wreath

Visions
Lesson Theme: When will Jesus come?
The calendar may say differently, but we are celebrating a new year this Sunday. It’s a new year in the Church and a new liturgical season. Set the stage for a transformative Advent season by spending some time with the cover activity; encourage the young people to choose a mix of achievable goals and some that will challenge them. This week marks a three-week study of the prophet Isaiah; spend some time with this activity (page 5). It is both a study in Bible history and an application of Isaiah’s message of peace. Provide colored pencils to complete the illustrations.

Teaching Guide
Parent Teaching Pages
Parent/Grandparent Assistance for Home Study
The Gospel at Home
Weekly Review Template
Online Assessment
Seasonal Resources
Videos
     What Is the Symbolism of the Advent Wreath?
     The Meaning of the Advent Wreath

Image credit: katyrinagondova/stock.adobe.com

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Our Editors


David Dziena
Publisher

David Dziena is the Publisher of Pflaum Publishing Group. He has also served as Executive Editor and […]

Joan McKamey
Project Editor

Joan McKamey, project editor, joined the Gospel Weeklies editorial team in September 2016. […]

Erika De Urquidi
Bilingual Editor

Erika De Urquidi, bilingual editor, joined Bayard, Inc. in July 2018. During her 15 years as a professional translator […]